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Historic Homes and Changing Streets

Driving or walking down many of the original streets in Lawrence, one can see the beautiful historic homes that line them. Many of these homes were built by business owners while others were built by the more well-off citizens. Some of these historic homes have been converted to other uses, or house fraternities or sororities. Regardless of what they are now, the charm of old Lawrence still stands.

From dirt to cement, the streets of Lawrence have also gone through several changes during the city's history. By 1900, the majority of the streets had been laid with bricks. This brick layer did not last long and by 1920 many of the main roads had been laid with cement. 

Streets names were one of the biggest challenges when trying to locate the current location of certain business and homes featured on postcards. The east-west streets that are now numbered were originally named after various historic figures, making it a bit of a challenge to locate buildings listed in records and directories under the original street names. The city's decision to change the names to numbers also resulted in a shift in the buildings' addresses, providing yet another challenge for historians researching Lawrence locations.

Old Lawrence
Historic Homes and Changing Streets